Russia

There are many sights to take in in the Russian section of the route. If you're coming from the West, the first city you get to is Smolensk. The regional capital is well worth a stop off and you the Katyn memorial is a must. From Smolensk to Moscow there are number of other sights that will bring the country's history to life. Next stop is the Yuri Gagarin memorial, then the sight of the battle of Moscow, the biggest and deadliest battle of the Napoleonic wars. Finally, the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery in Zvenigorod is the final stop before entering Moscow.
The itinerary mostly uses low-traffic public roads:
Krasny (P135) - Smolensk - Dorogobuzh (P134) - (some sand road) - Viaz'ma - Novodugino - Prechistoe - Gagarin - (some dirt road) - Tsvetkovsky - Uvarovka - Borodino - Mozhaisk - Klement'evo - Ruza - Kolubiakino - Zvenigorod - Zhavoronki - Krekshino - Moscow (approx. 650 km)